EIL Intercultural Learning

Lotte Bode from Holland volunteered in a teaching programme in Hengsha Island in October 2007. This island is situated in a rural area, 3 hours from Shanghai. We have selected some of the written feedback that Lotte sent to Jessie, the Volunteer co-ordinator for in China:

What experience do you feel you gained?
I learned a lot from this trip and the volunteer work. I got the chance to discover a culture which is much different than my own. I have been able to teach and got challenged by language problem, the really big classes and the different teaching system.

What was the best thing about your placement?
Well I don't think there's really one best thing about my placement. I think there were a lot of great things as the chance at learning a different culture, the really sweet children who came to me every break, the funny dinners, the traveling, the invitation to children's houses, the good care of the people from Heng sha Island and a lot of more things. And all those things together made this experience I will never forget.

Would you recommend this placement to anyone else?
For sure, I would recommend to somebody else when he/she wants to do some volunteer work abroad. I also would recommend China because it's so interesting for western people to live in this totally different Asia country. Also the island I would recommend, because it's a good way to really learn about the culture.

What type of person do you think this placement would suit?
I think a person should be open minded to go to China. She or he should be willing to try something new and something totally different. If somebody will go to Hengsha Island he or she should also be able to be "alone" a lot (or speak really good Chinese) I think also reactivity is useful for the teaching, being able to improvise, flexible and most of all enthusiastic.

Can you describe a typical day?
My day started at 6 o'clock with getting up and getting breakfast. Around 7 o'clock I arrived at school. If I had the first class, I'd to start that lesson at 8. I usually had around 4 or 5 classes a day. After two weeks I made my own drama class. I was teaching 15 kids there and I did that class after lunch time. At 5 o'clock I went home or to a dinner.

Any other comments?
Thanks a lot for all your great help. You for sure made my trip to be as good as it was. I would not have known what I'd done If you weren't there to help out with finding the way, buying a train ticket, showing me the best street food (which I'm really gonna miss). When you come to Holland call me and I'll show you the Dutch food!! Thanks again!

Lotte Bode